16 U.S.C. § 3841
Section 3841 · Commodity Credit Corporation
Current version, with additions and removals from the August 16, 2022 version.
Amounts made available by subsection (a) for fiscal years 2014 through 2031 shall be used by the Secretary to carry out the programs specified in such subsection and shall remain available until expended.
Amounts made available by subsection (a) for fiscal years 2014 through 2031 shall be used by the Secretary to carry out the programs specified in such subsection and shall remain available until expended.
Commodity Credit Corporation funds made available for a fiscal year for each of the programs specified in subsection (a)—
shall be available for the provision of technical assistance for the programs for which funds are made available as necessary to implement the programs effectively;
except for technical assistance for the conservation reserve program under subpart B of part I of subchapter IV, shall be apportioned for the provision of technical assistance in the amount determined by the Secretary, at the sole discretion of the Secretary; and
shall not be available for the provision of technical assistance for conservation programs specified in subsection (a) other than the program for which the funds were made available.
In the delivery of technical assistance under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590a et seq.), the Secretary shall give priority to producers who request technical assistance from the Secretary in order to comply for the first time with the requirements of subchapter II and subchapter III of this chapter as a result of the amendments made by section 2611 of the Agricultural Act of 2014.
Not later than 270 days after February 7, 2014, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report regarding the extent to which the conservation compliance requirements contained in the amendments made by section 2611 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 apply to and impact specialty crop growers, including national analysis and surveys to determine the extent of specialty crop acreage that includes highly erodible land and wetlands.
Not later than December 31, 2014, the Secretary shall submit (and update as necessary in subsequent years) to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report—
detailing the amount of technical assistance funds requested and apportioned in each program specified in subsection (a) during the preceding fiscal year; and
any other data relating to this provision that would be helpful to such Committees.
Not later than November 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that includes—
a description of the extent to which the requests for highly erodible land conservation and wetland compliance determinations are being addressed in a timely manner;
the total number of requests completed in the previous fiscal year;
the incomplete determinations on record; and
the number of requests that are still outstanding more than 1 year since the date on which the requests were received from the producer.
Commodity Credit Corporation funds made available for a fiscal year for each of the programs specified in subsection (a)—
shall be available for the provision of technical assistance for the programs for which funds are made available as necessary to implement the programs effectively;
except for technical assistance for the conservation reserve program under subpart B of part I of subchapter IV, shall be apportioned for the provision of technical assistance in the amount determined by the Secretary, at the sole discretion of the Secretary; and
shall not be available for the provision of technical assistance for conservation programs specified in subsection (a) other than the program for which the funds were made available.
In the delivery of technical assistance under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590a et seq.), the Secretary shall give priority to producers who request technical assistance from the Secretary in order to comply for the first time with the requirements of subchapter II and subchapter III of this chapter as a result of the amendments made by section 2611 of the Agricultural Act of 2014.
Not later than 270 days after February 7, 2014, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report regarding the extent to which the conservation compliance requirements contained in the amendments made by section 2611 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 apply to and impact specialty crop growers, including national analysis and surveys to determine the extent of specialty crop acreage that includes highly erodible land and wetlands.
Not later than December 31, 2014, the Secretary shall submit (and update as necessary in subsequent years) to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report—
detailing the amount of technical assistance funds requested and apportioned in each program specified in subsection (a) during the preceding fiscal year; and
any other data relating to this provision that would be helpful to such Committees.
Not later than November 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that includes—
a description of the extent to which the requests for highly erodible land conservation and wetland compliance determinations are being addressed in a timely manner;
the total number of requests completed in the previous fiscal year;
the incomplete determinations on record; and
the number of requests that are still outstanding more than 1 year since the date on which the requests were received from the producer.
The use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds under subsection (c) to provide technical assistance shall not be considered an allotment or fund transfer from the Commodity Credit Corporation for purposes of the limit on expenditures for technical assistance imposed by section 714i of title 15.
The use of Commodity Credit Corporation funds under subsection (c) to provide technical assistance shall not be considered an allotment or fund transfer from the Commodity Credit Corporation for purposes of the limit on expenditures for technical assistance imposed by section 714i of title 15.
When determining funding allocations each fiscal year, the Secretary shall, after considering available funding and program demand in each State, provide a distribution of funds for conservation programs under subchapter IV (excluding the conservation reserve program under subpart B of part I), subchapter VII, and subchapter VIII to ensure equitable program participation proportional to historical funding allocations and usage by all States.
In determining the specific funding allocations under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
ensure that during the first quarter of each fiscal year each State has the opportunity to establish that the State can use an aggregate allocation amount of at least 0.6 percent of the funds made available for those conservation programs; and
for each State that can so establish, provide an aggregate amount of at least 0.6 percent of the funds made available for those conservation programs.
When determining funding allocations each fiscal year, the Secretary shall, after considering available funding and program demand in each State, provide a distribution of funds for conservation programs under subchapter IV (excluding the conservation reserve program under subpart B of part I), subchapter VII, and subchapter VIII to ensure equitable program participation proportional to historical funding allocations and usage by all States.
In determining the specific funding allocations under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—
ensure that during the first quarter of each fiscal year each State has the opportunity to establish that the State can use an aggregate allocation amount of at least 0.6 percent of the funds made available for those conservation programs; and
for each State that can so establish, provide an aggregate amount of at least 0.6 percent of the funds made available for those conservation programs.
Not later than 1 year after December 20, 2018, the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency, shall conduct a review of conservation programs and authorities under this chapter that utilize annual allocation formulas to determine the sufficiency of the formulas in accounting for relevant data on local natural resource concerns, resource inventories, evaluations and reports, recommendations from State technical committees established under section 3861(a) of this title, State-level economic factors, level of agricultural infrastructure, or related factors that affect conservation program costs.
The Secretary shall improve conservation program allocation formulas as necessary to ensure that—
the formulas adequately reflect the costs of carrying out the conservation programs;
to the maximum extent practicable, local natural resource concerns are considered a leading factor in determining annual funding allocation to States;
the process used at the national level to evaluate State budget proposals and to allocate funds is reviewed annually to assess the effect of allocations in addressing identified natural resource priorities and objectives; and
the allocation of funds to States addresses priority natural resource concerns and objectives.
Not later than 1 year after December 20, 2018, the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency, shall conduct a review of conservation programs and authorities under this chapter that utilize annual allocation formulas to determine the sufficiency of the formulas in accounting for relevant data on local natural resource concerns, resource inventories, evaluations and reports, recommendations from State technical committees established under section 3861(a) of this title, State-level economic factors, level of agricultural infrastructure, or related factors that affect conservation program costs.
The Secretary shall improve conservation program allocation formulas as necessary to ensure that—
the formulas adequately reflect the costs of carrying out the conservation programs;
to the maximum extent practicable, local natural resource concerns are considered a leading factor in determining annual funding allocation to States;
the process used at the national level to evaluate State budget proposals and to allocate funds is reviewed annually to assess the effect of allocations in addressing identified natural resource priorities and objectives; and
the allocation of funds to States addresses priority natural resource concerns and objectives.
Not later than December 15 of each of calendar years 2019 through 2023, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an annual report containing statistics by State related to enrollments in conservation programs under this chapter, as follows:
The annual and current cumulative activity reflecting active agreement and contract enrollment statistics.
Secretarial exceptions, waivers, and significant payments, including—
payments made under the agricultural conservation easement program for easements valued at $250,000 or greater;
payments made under the regional conservation partnership program subject to the waiver of adjusted gross income limitations pursuant to section 3871c(c)(3) of this title;
waivers granted by the Secretary under section 1308–3a(b)(3) of title 7;
exceptions and activity associated with section 3839aa–2(h)(2) of this title; and
exceptions provided by the Secretary under section 3865b(b)(2)(B)(ii) of this title.
Not later than December 15 of each of calendar years 2019 through 2023, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an annual report containing statistics by State related to enrollments in conservation programs under this chapter, as follows:
The annual and current cumulative activity reflecting active agreement and contract enrollment statistics.
Secretarial exceptions, waivers, and significant payments, including—
payments made under the agricultural conservation easement program for easements valued at $250,000 or greater;
payments made under the regional conservation partnership program subject to the waiver of adjusted gross income limitations pursuant to section 3871c(c)(3) of this title;
waivers granted by the Secretary under section 1308–3a(b)(3) of title 7;
exceptions and activity associated with section 3839aa–2(h)(2) of this title; and
exceptions provided by the Secretary under section 3865b(b)(2)(B)(ii) of this title.
Subject to the requirements of this chapter, the Natural Resources Conservation Service shall serve as the lead agency in developing and establishing technical standards and requirements for conservation programs carried out under this chapter, including—
standards for conservation practices under this chapter;
technical guidelines for implementing conservation practices under this chapter, including the location of the conservation practices; and
standards for conservation plans.
The Administrator of the Farm Service Agency shall ensure that—
technical standards of programs administered by the Farm Service Agency are consistent with the technical standards established by the Natural Resources Conservation Service under paragraph (1); and
payment rates, to the extent practicable, are consistent between the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Subject to the requirements of this chapter, the Natural Resources Conservation Service shall serve as the lead agency in developing and establishing technical standards and requirements for conservation programs carried out under this chapter, including—
standards for conservation practices under this chapter;
technical guidelines for implementing conservation practices under this chapter, including the location of the conservation practices; and
standards for conservation plans.
The Administrator of the Farm Service Agency shall ensure that—
technical standards of programs administered by the Farm Service Agency are consistent with the technical standards established by the Natural Resources Conservation Service under paragraph (1); and
payment rates, to the extent practicable, are consistent between the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.